Washing device operated by garbage disposal unit



Dec. 1, 1964 w. B. DELAMATER WASHING DEVICE OPERATED BY GARBAGE DISPOSAL UNIT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed April 6, 1959 m 5 m g V I 5 A 5/ Ad 4 Dec. 1, 1964 w. B. DELAMATER WASHING DEVICE OPERATED BY GARBAGE DISPOSAL UNIT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed April 6, 1959 United States Patent This application is a division of my pending application entitled Dishwasher filed April 6, 1959, given Serial No. 804,179, and allowed March 24, 1961, now Patent No. 3,011,192, dated December 5, i961. Said application covers merely the dishwasher, broad claims being included herewith.

The present invention relates to a construction which functions in one embodiment as a dishwasher and in a second embodiment as a clothes washer.

Often, due to limited space such as may be encountered in small apartments, mobile type dishwashers and clothes washers cannot be installed. However, almost. every kitchen has a sink of some character and the present invention is adapted for placement within the sink. It is contemplated that some motive means shall be provided for the clothes washer or dishwasher and this may take the form of a garbage disposal unit. Garbage disposal units now are common and are attached to the bottom of the sink with the month end thereof in communication with the drain of said sink.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple effective means adapted to be power driven and which may be positioned within the sink for the purpose of washing dishes, and other culinary articles as well as the washing of clothes through the simple expedient of substituting certain members of the dishwasher for a clothes washer member.

A further object is the provision of a device of the character stated which is easily removable from or placed in a sink, which does not interfere with nor in any manner cause damage to a power unit for driving the washer, which is efiicient in operation, inexpensive in cost of manufacture, and which will perform a satisfactory washing operation.

Other objects will be apparent to those who have need or use for a device of the character of this invention.

With the above mentioned and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel and useful provision, formation, construction, association and relative arrangement of parts, members and features, all as shown in certain embodiments in the accompanying drawings described generally and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the dishwasher of the invention within a sink;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged view, partly in vertical section and showing an embodiment of the invention mounted within a sink for contact with the turntable of a garbage disposal unit;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, taken on the line 3--3 of FIGURE 2, and on an enlarged scale;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view on the line 55 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary, sectional view of a slightly modified form of construction from that shown in FIGURES 1 to 5 inclusive;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary, partially sectional view 2,159,355 Patented Dec. 1, i984 "ice showing an adaptation of the invention for the washing of clothes; and,

FIGURE 8 is a view looking in the direction of the arrows S 8 of FIGURE 7.

Referring now to the drawings, in FIGURE 1 I have shown a sink I mounted below the drainboard 2 with the usual valve arrangement for supplying hot and cold water to the sink, mounted thereabove, as shown at 3. The sink 1 has a central drain opening 4. However, the sink is for illustrative purposes only and may be of the divided type which has two drain openings. The present embodiment of my invention uses one of the drain openings. Primarily the drain opening 4 is in communication with the interior of a garbage disposal unit 5. This garbage disposal unit is of the ordinary type in that it is provided with a strainer flange member 6 which is secured within the opening 4 of the sink 1 and depends beneath the said sink. Secured to said strainer flange member 6 is a container body '7 of the disposal unit. Within the container body 7 is a motor 8, the rotor shaft 9 of which mounts a turntable it}. The top of the turntable carries the usual rotor shredder blades or elements 11, of which there may be a plurality. The rotor shredder blades cooperate with other elements so that waste material may be shredded when the motor is actuated. As a rule, water is poured into the sink for reception within the shredder compartment of the casing and outwardly thereof during a waste disposal operation. This briefly describes the garbage disposal unit and the same description will apply to most units now on the market.

The dishwashing device for use with the disposal unit includes a bridging plate 12 resting upon the internal flange 13 of the strainer flange member 6. Immediately above and supported on the bridging plate 12;is a cylindrical walled gasket seal 14 having annular peripheral grooves 15 and centrally provided with a conical bore 16. As shown, the top of the bridging plate is provided with upstanding pins 1.7 which are received within the gasket seal 14 so as to hold the two members against relative rotation. The bridging plate is provided with a central screw threaded bore 17a. As stated, the gasket seal 14 and the bridging plate are placed within the strainer flange member. The assembly for either dishwashing purposes or for the washing of clothes includes top and bottom plate members 18 and 19, the rims of which plates are received within an annular groove 20 of an annular gasket 21. The top and bottom plates 18 and 19 are held apart in spaced relationship by means of posts 22. These posts are secured between the plates in any approved manner. interposed between the top and bottom plates are trains of gears. There is one central gear or pinion 23 which meshes with larger diameter gears 24- and 25 in diametric relationship to gear 23 and which gears 24- and 25 are mounted upon stud shafts 26 and 27 journalled in the bottom plate 19. Mounted upon the stud shafts Z6 and 27 and above the said gears 24 and 25 are gears 28 and 29, preferably having the same diameter as the gear 23. Meshing with the gears 28 and 29 are gears 30 and 31 which gears are suitably mounted on spindle type shafts 32 and 33 respectively, the lower ends of the shafts 32 and 33 being journalled in the bottom plate 19 and extending through bores in the top plate 18.

The central gear 23 is mounted upon the end of a sleeve shaft 34. As shown in FIGURE 3, the sleeve shaft is reduced in diameter at its upper end where the shaft is passed through the bottom plate 19 with the said gear 23 mounted in any convenient manner to said shaft. The bore 35 in said sleeve shaft is angular sided, and in FIG- URE 3 the bore is substantially square in cross section, while the periphery of said shaft is circular. Surrounding the circular periphery of the sleeve shaft is a tubular sleeve 36 one end of which is provided with an annular flange 3 37. Included between the top plate 18 and the flange 37 is a ball bearing race assembly designated generally as 38, one race member of which bears against a conical side wall 3? of the sleeve shaft. Received Within the bore 35 is a shaft 4% the upper portion of which is complementary to the bore 35, that is, angular sided or square, while the remaining portion is cylindrical as indicated at 41 for the square portion of said shaft and 42 for the cylindrical portion. The cylindrical portion of said shaft terminates in an externally threaded end 43. To mount the several elements just described, I provide a plug 44 which has a multi-conical side wall as shown at 45, 46 and 47, the conical portion 46 having the same taper as the conical bore portion 48 of bore 16 of gasket seal 14. The tapered Wall 49 of said gasket seal corresponds in taper to the taper 45 of the plug 44. Depending from the lower end of the plug is a sleeve casing 59, which sleeve casing is screw threaded at 51 for engagement with the screw threads 17a of the bridging plate 12. The plug 44 is a centrally bored at 52 and this bore is of larger diameter than the internal dimension 53 of the sleeve casing 59, a construction which provides an annular shoulder at 54. The sleeve 36 has its lower end resting upon the annular shoulder 54 and is fitted within the bore 52. The bore 52 merges with an upper bore 55 which accommodates the flange 37 and the ball race assembly 38. The lower end of the sleeve casing 56 is internally threaded at 56. A

cap nut 57 is screw threaded within the threaded portion 56 and the cylindrical portion 42. of the shaft projects through said cap nut as shown. Surrounding the shaft 48 and confined within the sleeve casing 59 is a coil spring 58. One end of said coil spring bears against the lower end of the sleeve shaft 34 while the opposite end bears against a washer 59 fastened to the shaft 40 for constantly urging the shaft 40 to move outwardly through the cap nut 57. Secured to the end of the shaft 40 is a friction shoe (it). This shoe may be formed from any suitable material such as rubber, rubber composition or plastic and may assume various geometrical figures, that in the drawing being substantially frusto-conical in form, the base wall being provided with a central concavity 61. The top of said shoe is provided with an inset nut 62. for engaging the threaded end 43 of the shaft. The shoe 60 lies between the blades 11 as shown in FIGURE 2, in frictional engagement with the turntable top. The concavity 61 overlies the nut 63 which secures the Woodruif key member 64 which connects the turntable with the rotor shaft 9.

In the showing of FIGURE 6, I do not employ the plug 44 but utilize a gasket 79 of annular form provided with the annular peripheral grooves 71. The gasket 70 fits tightly within the confines of the strainer flange member 6. The central bore 72 of the gasket is of uniform diameter. The sleeve type casing has a uniform external diameter, as shown at 73. In this construction, the internal fmernbers, to Wit: shaft 49, and its connection with its sleeve shaft 34 remain the same as for the form shown in FIGURE 3, with the upper end portion of the sleeve shaft passed through the plate 19.

In the construction shown in FIGURES 1, 2, and 6, I employ a pair of cylindrical brushes 75 and 76 and the shafts for said brushes are of the sleeve type which receive the spindle shafts 32 and 33. Any type of snap fastener wings of identical construction, here designated as 77,-

radiating from a central post 78. which joins a conical base 79. The bottom edges of the agitator blades likewise merge with the conical'wall of the conical base 79. The conical base has a central sleeve 80 adapted to receive the spindle shaft 33. The spindle shaft 32 receives a central sleeve 81 depending from disk 82. In this instance the sleeve 81 has locking engagement with the shaft 32 While the sleeve 80 is loosely carried on the spindle shaft 33. A link 83 is pinned at one end 84 to the disk 82 while the opposite end of said link carries a pin 85 secured to conical base 79. The conical base 79 is provided with an annular depending flange 86 and with an annular flange 87 in substantially right angular relationship to flange S6.

The operation, uses and advantages of the invention just described are as follows:

If a dishwashing operation is to be performed, the device of the invention, assuming the form shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, is passed through the gasket 14 in such a manner that the plug 44 has tight engagement within the conical bore thereof. Thus the tapered surface 46 of said plug may have a tight engagement with the corresponding conical wall in the gasket by rotating the assembly which is to say, grasping the ring gasket 21 and turning the same which will cause the plug to move downwardly within gasket 14 due to the threaded relations'hip between the bridging plate 12 and the sleeve casing 50. It is necessary that a tight seal be provided so that when the sink 1 is filled with water, usually a soapy solution, the solution will not pass into the disposal unit. Upon insertion of the assembly Within the disposal unit, the shoe 6d will engage the turntable 10 whereby upon energizing the motor, the shaft 49 will be rotated. Due to the spring 58, the shaft 49 will be urged outwardly through the cap nut 57 to cause pressure engagement of the shoe to with said turntable 10. When the motor 8 is energized, the gear 23 is rotated and this gear drives the train of gears, to wit: gears 24 and 25 will be rotated in opposite directions. There will be considerable reduction in the turning speed of the brushes 75 and 76 due to the train of gears arrangement, and in practice the arrangement is such that if the motor rotates at approximately 1080 r.p.m., the brushes will be rotated approximately r.p.m. A person desiring to clean dishes may hold the dishes against either brush as the brushes will be rotating in soapy solution. To clean knives, forks, and spoons, the articles may be passed between the brushes. In actual practice, the device has been found to quickly and efliciently clean all dishes and other culinary articles.

When it is desired to wash clothes, the agitator type of system is employed by removing the brushes from the spindle shafts and applying the device as shown in its I entirety in FIGURE 7. In this device the sleeve 86 loosely engages the spindle shaft 33 while the sleeve 81 carried by disk 82 has. locking engagement with spindle shaft 32. The rotation of' spindle shaft 32 is approximately 100 r.p.m. and as the link is secured adjacent the circular rim of said disk, rotation of the disk produces oscillatory movement of the agitator head. The provision of flanges 86 and 87 is a safety measure to prevent clothes from moving inwardly adjacent the agitator disk 82. The arrangement is such that when the sleeve 80 is engaging the spindle shaft 33, the flange 87 is spaced a slight distance above the inner surface of the sink 1. The agitator.

I washing of dishes or clothes, the agitator in one instance or the brushes in a second instance, may be removed and cleanecLfollowed by the removal of the housing which contains the gear train, the associated plug and its sleeve casing 50, and the shaft 49 carrying the shoe 60. Thereafter the bridging plate 12 and gasket .14 are removed from the strainer flange member 6. The annular grooves 71 in one instance and 15 in the second instance, aid in 3 assuring tight fit of the gaskets within the strainer flange member. The device is small, occupies little space, and is easily stored.

What 1 claim is:

1. A device for placement in the drain opening of a sink of the type that is provided with a strainer flange and provided beneath the strainer flange with a power driven garbage disposal unit, including: a bridging plate spanning the strainer flange, the bridging plate being formed with a screw threaded central opening, a gasket seal with a conical bore resting on the bridging plate, a plug having a conical surface for snug reception in said conical bore and having a depending sleeve externally threaded in part and extending through said threaded central opening of the bridging plate for engagement therewith so that upon rotation of the conical plug the conical surfaces of the plug and the gasket seal are brought into firm engagement to prevent fluid leakage therebetween, a telescopic shaft for frictional engagement with the power driven garbage disposal unit to rotate the shaft, a tool connected to the shaft and adapted to be positioned Within the sink to be moved about a vertical axis by rotation of said telescopic shaft.

2. The device of claim 1 with a casing for placement within the sink, said casing including a pair of spaced apart plates, an annular gasket surrounding the plates with a pair of shafts projecting through the upper plate of the pair, and mechanism connected to said shafts to cause the tool to oscillate.

3. The device of claim 2 in which the tool is a clothes washing agitator head having a plurality of Wings and the mechanism includes a flat disk secured to one of the pair of shafts, said agitator head loosely receiving axially the other of the pair of shafts, anda link pivoted to the fiat disk and to the agitator head, each to one side of the axis thereof, whereby the agitator oscillates as the garbage disposal unit revolves.

4. The device of claim 1 in which the tool is an agitator head, the gasket seal has annular peripheral grooves in contact with the wall of the strainer flange member and its conical bore is of a plurality of zones of different slopes, and the plug has corresponding zones for successive contact with the zones of the gasket seal as the portions of the telescopic shaft are relatively moved.

5. The device of claim 1 with gear reduction means operatively connecting the telescopic shaft with the tool whereby the tool may turn at a slower rate than the telescopic shaft.

6. The device of claim 5 in which the gear reduction means includes a central gear at the top of the telescopic shaft, a pair of gears on stud shafts driven from the central gear in opposite directions, a gear of the same size as the central gear on each of the stud shafts, a pair of spindle type shafts, and a gear on each spindle type shaft meshing with the smaller gears on the stud shafts.

7. The device of claim 1 in which the telescopic shaft includes an inner shaft having a lower cylindrical portion slidable through the depending sleeve of the plug and an angular sided upper portion, and a sleeve shaft rotatable in the plug and having an angular sided inner bore slidably receiving said upper portion of the inner shaft for rotation therewith; a friction shoe carried by the lower end of the cylindrical portion of the inner shaft, and spring means urging said inner shaft downwardly, whereby as v the plug is lowered in the bridging plate the friction shoe engages the garbage disposal unit.

8. A device for use with a power driven garbage disposal unit attached to a sink and having a rotating table, said device comprising a bridging plate engaging the unit, a plug supported by the bridging plate and carrying a reduction gear assembly resting upon the bottom of the sink, means detachably engaging the garbage disposal unit for driving the reduction gear assembly, said reduction assembly including two parallel shafts, a clothes agitator head having a peripheral flange parallel to and closely proximate the sink bottom, and means connecting the agitator head to the two parallel shafts to oscillate the agitator head at a speed roughly one-tenth the speed of the garbage disposal unit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,623,360 Patch Dec, 30, 1952 2,869,794 Modrey Jan. 20, 1959 2,918,811 Schele Dec. 29, 1959 

1. A DEVICE FOR PLACEMENT IN THE DRAIN OPENING OF A SINK OF THE TYPE THAT IS PROVIDED WITH A STRAINER FLANGE AND PROVIDED BENEATH THE STRAINER FLANGE WITH A POWER DRIVEN GARBAGE DISPOSAL UNIT, INCLUDING: A BRIDGING PLATE SPANNING THE STRAINER FLANGE, THE BRIDGING PLATE BEING FORMED WITH A SCREW THREADED CENTRAL OPENING, A GASKET SEAL WITH A CONICAL BORE RESTING ON THE BRIDGING PLATE, A PLUG WITH A CONICAL SURFACE FOR SNUG RECEPTION IN SAID CONICAL BORE AND HAVING A DEPENDING SLEEVE EXTERNALLY THREADED IN PART AND EXTENDING THROUGH SAID THREADED CENTRAL OPENING OF THE BRIDGING PLATE FOR ENGAGEMENT THEREWITH SO THAT UPON ROTATION OF THE CONICAL PLUG THE CONICAL SURFACES OF THE PLUG AND THE GASKET SEAL ARE BROUGHT INTO FIRM ENGAGEMENT TO PREVENT FLUID LEAKAGE THEREBETWEEN, A TELESCOPIC SHAFT FOR FRICTIONAL ENGAGEMENT WITH THE POWER DRIVEN GARBAGE DISPOSAL UNIT TO ROTATE THE SHAFT, A TOOL CONNECTED TO THE SHAFT AND ADAPTED TO BE POSITIONED WITHIN THE SINK TO BE MOVED ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS BY ROTATION OF SAID TELESCOPIC SHAFT. 